Circulatory responses to stimulation of the carotid body chemoreceptors in the cat.

Cardiovascular responses to carotid body chemoreceptor stimulation were followed in the 'curairzed', vagotomized, artificially ventilated cat. Stimulation of the chemoreceptors by perfusion of the carotid sinus regions with venous blood induced a reflex vasconstriction in skeletal muscle, kidney, intestine and skin, and, in most cases, an increased heart rate. A comparison of the chemoreceptor reflex responses with those obtained by direct electrical stimulation of the regional vasomotor fibres indicated that in chemorecptor reflexes the vasomotor fibre activity increased to the same extent in skeletal muscle and intestinal resistance vessels and, probably, in the nutritional skin vessels but to a smaller extent in the renal vessels and the skeletal muscle capacitance vessels. The renal vessels and the muscle capacitance vessels seemed, however, to respond more during chemoreceptor stimulation than when the barorecptors were unloaded, indicating that anexcitation of the bulbar vasomotor centre is more effective than the withdroawal of an inhibitory restraint in activating the vasomotor fibres to these vascular sections.